Joe Namath and His Fur Coat Won the Super Bowl

Last night, when Joe Namath performed the coin toss at Super Bowl XLVIII in a large fur coat—the kind typically found on women of a certain age who reside on the Upper East Side—it was a strange sight. But Broadway Joe has a long history with extravagant style choices. The look was instantly meme-worthy, as evidenced by the inevitable Twitter account it spawned (@NamathCoat) and the ire it elicited from PETA. Needless to say, it got people talking.

What amazed me is that he didn't look like a total fool. He certainly should have, and many men who might have attemtped the same thing wouldn't have fared so well. But there he was, with that grin, and he looked, if not stylish, well then, at least in on the joke. He looked comfortable and proud, and that's what came across. It reminded me that, while the cut of your jacket and the length of your pants can go a long way to making you look presentable, sometimes none of that matters. Sometimes attitude and confidence trump all those nit-picky rules and regulations. With news cycles metabolizing as fast as they do these days, it's doubtful that many people will remember who won this year's game a few years hence. They will, however, remember Namath and his in-you-face fur. So you be the judge: Who really won the Super Bowl?

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